Inclusion in the emerging market index is recognition of the country’s reforms and could bring $50 billion of foreign investment.

Less onerous regulatory requirements and the proximity to markets where retail FX is prohibited continue to encourage brokers to set up shop in the Middle East, despite ongoing state protection for the Saudi Arabian currency.

Europe may not be enough after Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal.

Euromoney investigates how the relaxation of western sanctions on Iran – dubbed the world’s most lucrative closed economy – will jump-start trade and capital flows from Europe to the Gulf, and plots a vision for the country's banking system and economic transformation, more generally.

Euromoney's latest coverage of the bond markets in Africa.

Angola, which has recently emerged from civil war, is in the process of building its own identity. A systematic drive towards diversification of the economy away from the oil sector and the process of de-dollarization are pivotal parts of this process. How are banks, the government and locals coping as this transformation takes hold?

For the moment, Africa looks to be a step too far.

As international financiers rush into Saudi Arabia, they are asking if the Kingdom can deliver on its grand promises.

The new presidents of Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe could do better, but banks and investors will have plenty of due diligence to do when deciding whether or not and how to commit more resources to these countries.

While most countries have adopted e-wallets and mobile banking as a result of technological innovation and evolution, Zimbabwe was forced into it because of a financial crisis.

Now Mugabe is gone, one of the poorest nations in southern Africa can see the first signs of interest from international investors, but a chaotic currency regime, heavily indebted economy and looming elections are turning initial euphoria into cautious optimism.

South Africa’s new deputy finance minister took a tough stance on corruption under former president Jacob Zuma – now Mondli Gungubele talks to Euromoney about the embarrassing Zuma years and the Ramaphosa government’s plans to turn the economy around.

Oil prices and currency controls created opportunities for some banks, which reported bumper gains from FX and fixed income last year, but no one is expecting a repeat of that. Can lending keep them sweet?

With the election of Cyril Ramaphosa, there is a new sense of optimism in the country. Bankers talk of Ramaphoria and hail the first signs of a long-overdue improvement in the economy.

The volume of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) FX business done electronically is growing, with the large South African banks in the vanguard.

Despite a new prime minister and growing economic pressures, Ethiopia seems unlikely to seize the opportunity to open up its financial sector and lure more foreign investment.

London office slated for Q3, New York for 2019; CIB crucial to target of doubling revenue share.